Electrical socket



July 21, 1964 B. E. OLSSON ETAL ELECTRICAL SOCKET Original Filed Aug. 5,1959 INVENTOR5' m M W United States Patent 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-66) Thepresent invention relates to electrical sockets and,

more specifically, to electrical sockets adapted to be snapped intomounting position on a support.

The present application is a divisional application of applicationSerial No. 831,146, filed August 3, 1959.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedelectrical socket.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electrical socket of the snapin type.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electrical socket that directs automatically dispensed, contactterminals into predetermined positions within the body of the socket.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in a socket anew and improved opening structure for receiving and guiding a pluralityof contact terminals into selective positions relative to the socket.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electrical socket embodying a resilient rib structure adaptedto facilitate mounting of the socket on a support or the like.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a socket anew and improved rib structure which permits deformation of spaced apartribs along their entire lengths during insertion of the socket into anapertured support, yet maintains the socket in locked mounting positionafter insertion into the apertured support.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electrical socket that is adapted to be readily molded byaxially movable mold halves, thereby obviating the use of transverselymovable mold halves and camming devices which limit the number ofsockets that can be produced in a given space.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a newand improved electrical socket wherein a generally transverselyextending structure adapted to coact with a support is molded by axiallymovable mold halves.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a newand improved electrical socket embodying a new and improved body andforked-type contact terminals.

The above and other objects of the present invention are achieved byproviding a new and improved electrical socket adapted to be snappedinto mounting position on an apertured support, for example a metallicchassis or baseboard. The electrical socket comprises a body molded frominsulating material, for example plastic or the like, and a plurality ofcontact terminals made of electrically conductive metal, for examplecopper, bronze, and the like. The contact terminals are suitablysupported by the body to provide electrical connection betweenelectrical leads and the prongs of an electrical device inserted intothe socket body.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the body isprovided with a plurality of openings for receiving, respectively, thecontact terminals which are adapted to be locked Within the body of thesocket. The openings are so constructed that the contact terminals,which are randomly positioned above the socket body,

are guided by the openings into the body of the socket to assumepreselected positions relative to one another.

In another aspect of the present invention, a new and improved ribstructure is embodied in the socket body to facilitate insertion of thesocket in the apertured support. In this connection, a plurality ofaxially extending slots are respectively spatially arranged relative toa plurality of ribs provided on the side of the socket body so that, asthe socket is inserted into the apertured support, the ribs arepermitted to be deformed inwardly into the slotted portions throughouttheir entire length. Thus, a socket embodying the improved rib structureis more easily and quickly snapped into mounting position on thesupport.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the socket ismolded by the use of axially movable mold halves. Particularly, theaxially moving mold halves produce transversely extending lockingstructure that is used to retain the socket in the apertured support.Thus, the use of transversely movable mold halves and camming devicesthat produce relatively high manufacturing costs are entirely avoided.

Furthermore, the present invention envisions particularly constructedfork-type contact terminals and particularly configured openings in thesocket body for coacting with the terminals to fixedly secure them tothe socket body.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,taken with further objects and advantages thereof, will best beunderstood by reference to the following description taken in connectionwith the accom panying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an electrical socket embodying thefeatures of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is an enlarged top plan view of the socket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the socket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the socket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1, an electricalsocket embodying the features of the present invention is illustratedand is identified generally by reference numeral 10. The electricalsocket, herein referred to as a tube socket, is of the snap-in type and,thus, is adapted to be snapped into an oversized aperture provided in asupport, for example, an apertured metallic chassis or baseboard (shownonly in FIG. 4). With the tube socket 1t fixedly secured to the metallicchassis, it is adapted to receive prongs or the like of an electricaldevice, for example a vacuum tube. The tube socket, as described below,respectively interconnects the prongs of the vacuum tube to a pluralityof electrical leads connected in an electrical circuit.

Briefly, the tube socket 110 comprises an insulating body 12 ofgenerally solid cylindrical configuration provided with a plurality ofaxially extending openings 30 for respectively accommodating a pluralityof electrically conductive contact terminals 14. The openings 30 areconfigured so that the contact terminals 14 are guided into the openings30 and furthermore are configured to accommodate a locking means 16embodied in the terminals 14. When the locking means 16'coacts with theopenings 30, the terminals 14 are fixedly secured to the socket body '12so that their legs depend downwardly from the body 12. The contactterminals 14 are of the forked, wire-wrap type and, as is well known,electrical leads, e.g. wire conductors, leads from electrical elements,and the like, are adapted to be wrapped around and soldered to the legsof the contact terminals 14, thereby providing good electricalconnections between the electrical leads and the contact members 14 and,hence, the specific prongs associated with the vacuum tube when insertedin the socket 10.

Referring now specifically to the detailed construction of thefork-type, contact terminals 14, attention is directed to FIG. 5,wherein one of the contact terminals 14 is illustrated in elevation. Asshown, the terminal 14 comprises a flat blade of generally Yconstruction. The blade terminal 14 specifically includes a pair ofgenerally parallel arms 34 and 36 integrally connected to a leg 38 whichactually comprises an extension of the arm 36. The arms 34 and 36 definetherebetween a space for accommodating a prong 40 of a vacuum tube orthe like and are somewhat resilient in the sense that they are capableof limited relative movement toward and away from one another in theplane of the blade. Consequently, incident to insertion of the prong 40,illustrated in dotted lines of FIG. 5, between the arms 34 and 36, theprong 44 moves the arms 34 and 36 apart and enters the above-referred tospace. The arms 34 and 36 being deformed outwardly, are resilientlybiased toward one another to provide a good pressure contact between theprong 40 and the contact terminal 14. To facilitate the passage of theprong 40 into the space between the arms 34 and 36, the inner corners34a and 36a of the upper ends of the arms 34 and 36 are curved so as toguide the prong 40 downwardly between the arms 34 and 36.

For the purpose of locking each of the contact ter minals 14 to thesocket body 12 by simply positioning the terminal 14' in the opening 30,a locking means is embodied in each contact member 14. Referring now toFIG. 5, the locking means 16 comprises a generally rectangular finger 41which is stamped out of the right side of the arm 36. The finger 41 isintegrally attached at its lower end to the arm 36 and is deformed, asit is stamped, upwardly and rearwardly so that the tip 41a of the finger41 is displaced rearwardly of the blade terminal 14 to coact withsuitable structure in the socket body 12, described hereinbelow.

Considering now the body 12 of the socket in greater detail, it ismanufactured from suitable plastic or the like material by a suitablemolding process and, thus, is relatively rigid but at the same time isslightly resilient. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, thegenerally cylindrical socket body 12 includes an axially extending,centrally located bore 19 for receiving suitable shielding or the likedevices. The body 12 having a generally flat and parallel top andbottom, includes adjacent its top a generally annular head 20, the lowersurface of which is adapted to engage the upper surface of a metallicchassis or baseboard 22 or the like (shown inFIG. 4), and also includesadjacent its bottom a shank 21 that is inserted into a slightlyoversized opening 23 of the metallic chassis 22. The shank Z1 is ofsmaller diameter than the head and has a length approximately twice aslong as the head 20. As described in greater detail hereinbelow, theshank 21 is provided with a rib structure including a plurality ofaxially extending and spatially arranged ribs 26 formed in thecylindrical side of the shank 21. The ribs 26 terminate at their upperends in ledges 27 that coact with the under surface of the metallicchassis 22 and in cooperation with the head 20 lock the tube socket 10to the chassis 22.. Although not clearly shown in the drawing, theledges 27 are inclined downwardly several degrees to assure that theribs 26 and the head 20 snugly engage the metallic chassis 22, therebyto assure that a substantially tight fit is obtained between the socket10 and the chassis 22.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the plurality of spatially arrangedopenings 30 defined in the body 12 extend axially between the top andbottom of the socket body, i.e., extend through both the annular head 20and the shank 21. By this construction contact terminals 14, which areindividually or collectively dispensed into the openings 30 by automaticmachinery, pass downwardly under gravity into the openings 30 until thelocking finger 41 engages the socket 10 to arrest the movement of theterminals. Thereafter, a suitable insertion device drives the terminals14 downwardly into locking engagement with the socket body 12, whereinthe legs 38 extend downwardly from the tube socket 10. In any event, theopenings 30 are located substantially equidistantly between the bore 19and the cylindrical side of the shank 21 and are equally spaced apartsimilarly to the prongs of a vacuum tube so that the vacuum tube prongsregister with the openings 30. In this connection, one opening isomitted as indicated at FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, to provide an indexing oraligning means to assure proper orientation of the vacuum tube in thesocket 10.

Considering now the construction of the openings 3% in greater detail,attention is specifically directed to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6. The openings 30are each of identical construction and in the interest of simplifyingthe specification, only a single opening 30 will be described. Briefly,each of the openings 30 comprises a terminal retaining or lower portion30a of generally rectangular cross section for accommodating the arms 34and 36 of a contact terminal 14 and, in addition, a mouth portion 30bfor guiding and directing a contact terminal 14 downwardly into theretaining portion 30a. The retaining portion 311a comprises a slightlyoversized slot to permit the arms 34 and 36 of the terminal 14 to moveeasily downward into their mated position, wherein the lower end 42 ofthe arm 34 seats on a lip 44 which defines a reduced neck slot 48through which the leg 38 extends. The lip 44 is provided with a fiat,downwardly and rightwardly inclined surface 46 for guiding the leg 38 ofthe contact terminal 14 into the reduced neck slot 48 during assembly ofthe terminal 14 and the socket body 12.

As seen best in FIGS. 3 and 5, the retaining portion 391; includesadjacent its lower end a chamber 511 which extends downwardly to thebottom of the socket body 12. The chamber 50 is slot-like and actuallycomprises an integral extension of the retaining portion 311a toaccommodate the rearwardly and upwardly displaced finger 41 of theterminal 14. The chamber 51) is closed at its upper end by structure 52provided in the socket body 12 and is open at the bottom of the socketbody 12 to facilitate withdrawal of the mold half or the like. By thisconstruction, the tip 41a of the finger 41 coacts with the structure 52to prevent upward movement of the contact terminal 14, while the lowerend 42 of the arm 34 coacts with the lip 44 to prevent the downwardmovement of the contact terminal 14. Thus, once the contact terminal 14is inserted into the opening 30 into its mating position, it is lockedin situ in the socket body 12 simply and quickly and subsequentdisassembly of the contact terminal 14 and the socket body 12 iseffected only by the use of special tools.

The retaining portion 311a of the opening 39 also includes a pair ofaxially extending keyways 54 and 56, best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, foraccommodating the prong 40 of the vacuum tube or the like. The keyways54 and 56 are generally rectangular in section and extend downwardly toa'point two-thirds the depth of the socket body 12. They are located inthe walls of the retaining portion 311a so as to lie between the arms 34and 36-of the contact member 14 and, in essence, widen the middle of theslot-like retaining portion 30a. Accordingly, the prong 40 of a vacuumtube or the like moves unobstructed into the widened or oversized middlepart of the receiving portion 30a and is engaged only by the resilientarms 34 and 36 of the contact membernot any part of the socket body 12.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the mouth 30]; ofthe opening 30 performs a dual function. First, it guides and directsthe contact terminal 14 into the retaining portion 30a of the opening 30incident to disposition of the contact terminal 14 into the opening 30by automatic machinery or the like and, secondly, guides the prongs 40of the vacuum tubes or the like into engagement with the arms 34 and 36of the contact terminals 14 when fixedly held by the socket body 12. Theconfiguration of the mouth Sill: of the opening 30 is clearly shown inFIGS. 2, 5, and 6, and may be conveniently described as beingtear-shaped because of its generally teardrop cross section shown bestin FIG. 2. As illustrated therein, the mouth 30b provides a transitionfrom a generally circular entrance of the opening 30, i.e., the part ofthe opening at the top of the socket, to the slot-like retaining portion30a. In addition, the mouth 30b and the retaining portion 30a jointogether to provide an opening 30 having a continuous and uninterruptedsurface within the socket body 12. More particularly, the mouth 30bincludes a pair of generally conical surfaces 61? and 62 which generallyextend away from one another to extend on opposite sides of the left endof the retaining portion 30a, as seen in FIG. 5, and a pair of generallyfiat surfaces 64 and 66 converging towards the right end of the lowerportion 30a. The generally conical surface 60 and the generally flatsurface 64 are continuous and uninterrupted as is the generally conicalsurface 62 and generally flat surface 66. The surfaces 6%), 64 andsurfaces 62, 66 respectively intercept the longitudinal walls of theretaining portion 30a and each define a V, the intersection between thesurfaces 60, 64 and the adjacent wall of the retaining portion 36a beingidentified by reference numeral 68 in FIG. 5.

As indicated above, the contact terminals 14 are positioned above anddispensed into the openings 30 by automatic machinery. The automaticmachinery is so oriented relative to the socket that the leg 38 of eachterminal 14 enters the tear-shaped mouth 3011 near the center of themouth 36!) and not adjacent the converging ends of the surfaces 64 and66, as might be expected in view of the ultimate position of the leg 38.Thus, as the terminal 14 moves downwardly, initially by gravity andthereafter under the ejection force of the automatic machinery, thelower end 38a of the leg 38 engages either of the flat surfaces 64 or 66at a point generally equidistant from their ends, whereupon the lowerend 38a is guided into the retaining slot-like portion 30a. The contactterminal 14 continues to move downwardly through the retaining opening30a and, since the end 38a is not adjacent the right end of theslot-like portion 30a, the lower end 38a engages the inclined surface 46of the lip 44 and is directed into the reduced neck 48. In thisconnection, the lower end 38a is rounded to facilitate movement of theleg 38 through the neck 48. The leg 38 continues its downward movementthrough the neck 48 until the lower end 42 of the arm 34 engages andseats on the lip 44. It will be appreciated that the entire weight ofthe contact terminal 14 is supported by the lip 44 and the terminal 14is maintained in mated position illustrated in FIG. under the force ofgravity.

Returning now to the movement of the contact terminal 14, the springfinger 41 stamped out of the arm 36 is deflected into the plane of thecontact terminal 14 as the arms 34 and 36 enter and pass through theupper part of the slot-like portion 30a. Specifically, the finger 41engages the intersection 68 and then the structure 52 of the body 12and, when the contact terminal 14 moves into the position illustrated inFIG. 5, the resilient finger 41 is free to move outwardly into thechamber 50 to assume a position generally inclined to the terminal arm36. The movement of the finger 41 causes the tip 41a to move into aposition immediately beneath the structure 52 of the socket body 12.Accordingly, as a result of the coaction of the tip 41a of the finger 41and the structure 52, upward movement of the contact terminal 14 isprevented, whereby the terminal 14 is fixedly held or locked in theopening 30 of the socket body 12.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the new andimproved rib structure embodied in the socket body 12 permits improvedsnap-in mounting of the socket 12 to the metallic chassis 22. In thiscon nection, the plurality of axially extending ribs 26 are equallyspaced around and extend substantially the entire length of thecylindrical side 25 of the shank 21 of the socket body 12. Each of theribs 26 extends outwardly from the shank 21 and has a generally curvedsurface that is inclined downwardly so that the upper end of the rib 26is offset more from the side 25 than the lower end of the rib 26. Bythis construction, the ribs 26 define for the shank 21 a progressivelylarger eifective diameter which at some vertical point is larger thanthe diameter of the opening 23. As shown best in FIGS. 4 and 5, theextreme upper end of the rib 26 terminates in the ledge 27 that extendslaterally to coact with the under surface of the metallic chassis 22.Since the tube socket body 12 is made from plastic material that isgenerally rigid yet resilient, the axially extending ribs 26 aredeformed inwardly incident to insertion of the tube socket 12 into theopening 23 in the chassis 22.

. To permit the ribs 26 to be displaced as the socket 10 is snapped intoits mounting position on the chassis 22, slots 72 are defined radiallyinwardly of and immediately adjacent to the ribs 26. As best shown inFIG. 5, the slots 72 are rectangular in cross section and are definedthrough the length of the shank 21 of the socket body 21 so as to extendthe length of the ribs 26. Accordingly, as the socket body 12 isinserted into the opening 23 of the chassis 22 and the ribs 26 engagethe opening 23, the ribs 26 are deflected inwardly into the slots 72with the result that the effective diameter of the shank 21 is reducedto permit the socket 112 to easily pass into the opening 23. Once thehead 20 of the socket 12 abuts against the upper surface of the chassis22 and the ribs 26 clear the opening 23, the ribs 26 are resilientlyurged back into their deformed positions, with the result that theledges 27 move outwardly to coact with the lower surface of the chassis22 and lock the socket 12 to the chassis 22. It will thus be appreciatedthat a greatly improved resilient rib structure is provided by providinga slot throughout the entire length of the rib; moreover, theperformance of the rib structure of the present invention has proven tobe far superior to existing rib structures in which slots are providedonly adjacent portions of the ribs.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, thesocket body 12 and in particular the rib structure comprising the ribs26 and the slots 72, are manufactured by a molding process embodying apair of axially movable mold halves. In contrast to present dayelectrical sockets wherein transversely movable mold halves and cammingdevices are employed to produce ledges, similar to ledges 27, forengaging the metallic chassis 22, the socket body 12 is manufacturedwith axially movable mold halves which facilitate the manu facture ofthe socket bodies and decrease their production costs. Morespecifically, the lower mold half is provided with upwardly extendingparts (not shown) which produce the slots 72 located adjacent to theribs 26 while the upper mold half includes downwardly extending partswhich produce a plurality of the slots 74 extending above the ledges 27,a part of each slot 74 being of the same cross section as the ledges 27.In fact, as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the parts of the mold halvesproducing the slots 72 and 74 cooperate to define the laterallyextending ledges 27 and, furthermore, coact to define in the side wall25 of the socket shank 21 a plurality of openings 76 that communicatewith the openings 74 and 72. The openings 76 are located immediatelyabove the ribs 26 and receive portions of the apertured metallic chassis22.

It has been observed that in existing sockets, the ledges on top of theribs are produced by using transversely moving mold halves which requirecamming devices for eifecting the separation of the mold halves.Accordingly,

only a limited number of rows of the molds can be located in a givenarea, since the camming devices occupy a certain amount of spaceadjacent each row of molds. However, by using axially movable moldhalves that include parts to define the ledges 27, the camming devicesare entirely eliminated, with the result that a greater number of rowsof molds can be located within the same area. Hence, a greater number ofsockets can be produced by the same molding press during a singlemolding operation, whereby a greater number of sockets can be producedin a given time to substantially reduce the production costs of theelectrical sockets.

While the embodiment described herein is at present considered to bepreferred, it is understood that various modifications and improvementsmay be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claimsall such modifications and improvements as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

What is desired to be claimed and secured by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. In a socket and snap-in contact assembly, a contact member, having anupper end portion, a pair of spaced apart yieldable contact legs forminga forked prong receiver extending upwardly from said end portion anddisposed in the plane thereof, a narrow depending tail extending fromsaid end portion laterally of said forked prong receiver, said tailbeing disposed in the plane of said end portion and said forked prongreceiver, said contact member also having a resilient locking fingerforming a continuation of said tail and extending upwardly from saidtail, said finger being spaced laterally from said forked prong receiverand projecting laterally from the plane of said forked prong receiver,end portion and tail, and a socket body provided with a contactreceivingopening therein equipped along the bottom thereof with a partialenclosure defining a stop element and forming with a Wall of saidopening a restricted passageway dimensioned to afford movement of saidtail therethrough and bring said enlarged end portion into engagementwith said stop element, said openingalong another wall thereof beingprovided with an offset portion defining an abutment element providingan inwardly ex tending abutment disposed above said passageway'so as tobe engaged by said locking finger when said enlarged upper end portionof the contact is in engagementwith said stop element, said contactbeing adapted to be snapped into said opening by moving the contactdownwardly thereinto so as to move said tail-through saidpassageway andbring said end portion into engagement with said stop element whereuponsaid locking finger flexes into position below said abutment. 1 r

2. In a socket and snap-in contact assembly, a generally planar contactmember having a stop portion, a pair of spaced apart yieldable contactlegs forming a forked prong receiver disposed in the plane of thecontact member, a narrow depending tail extending downwardly-from saidcontact legs and being disposed in the plane of the contact member, saidcontact member also having a resilient locking finger extending upwardlyrelative to said tail, said finger being adjacent to and spacedlaterally from said contact legs and projecting transversely of theplane of the contact member, and a socket body provided with acontact-receiving opening slot, the slot at the bottom of the socketbody being restricted to define a stop element and a restrictedpassageway dimensioned to afford movement of said tail therethrough andbring said stop portion into engagement with said stop element, saidslot being provided with an offset portion defining an abutment elementproviding an inwardly extending abutment disposed above said passagewayso as to be engaged by said locking finger when said enlarged stopportion of the contact is in engagement with said stop element, saidcontact being adapted to be snapped into said slot by moving the contactdownwardly thereinto so as to move said tail through said passageway andbring said stop portion into engagement with said stop element whereuponsaid locking finger flexes into position below said abutment.

3. The combination of an electrical socket body provided with aplurality of spatially arranged, axially extending slots, each of saidslots including a stop means and an offset portion defining an abutment,said body also including guiding means in alignment and communicationwith the upper ends of said slots, each of said guiding means having agenerally downwardly converging configuration that terminates smoothlyin the upper end of said slot for guiding a terminal randomly dispensedinto said guide means into said slot, and generally planar electricallyconductive terminals located in said openings and secured to said body,each of said terminals including a pair of spaced apart yieldablecontact legs extending in the plane of the terminal for accommodating aprong of an electrical device, a stop extending in the plane of theterminal to coact with said stop means, and a resilient finger adjacentto and spaced laterally of said contact legs extending transversely ofthe plane of the terminal located in said offset portion for coactingwith said abutment, the terminals each including a legextending-downwardly from said contact legs adapted to be connected toanother electrical device, said terminals being adapted to be snappedinto said slots by moving the terminals downwardly into said slots.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,812,343 Johnson et al. June 30, 1931 1,988,489 Gunthorp Jan. 22, 19352,003,948 Mess June 4, 1935 2,129,725 Alden Sept. 13, 1938 2,332,483Doty Oct. 19, 1943 2,359,634 Franklin Oct. 3, 1944 2,688,123 Benham eta1. Aug. 31, 1954 2,706,281 Schnurr Apr. 12, 1955 2,741,750 Barre Apr.10, 1956 2,803,000 Johanson Aug. 13, 1957 2,953,765 Greasley Sept. 20,1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 653,597 Germany Nov. 27, 1937

3. THE COMBINATION OF AN ELECTRICAL SOCKET BODY PROVIDED WITH APLURALITY OF SPATIALLY ARRANGED, AXIALLY EXTENDING SLOTS, EACH OF SAIDSLOTS INCLUDING A STOP MEANS AND AN OFFSET PORTION DEFINING AN ABUTMENT,SAID BODY ALSO INCLUDING GUIDING MEANS IN ALIGNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONWITH THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID SLOTS, EACH OF SAID GUIDING MEANS HAVING AGENERALLY DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING CONFIGURATION THAT TERMINATES SMOOTHLYIN THE UPPER END OF SAID SLOT FOR GUIDING A TERMINAL RANDOMLY DISPENSEDINTO SAID GUIDE MEANS INTO SAID SLOT, AND GENERALLY PLANAR ELECTRICALLYCONDUCTIVE TERMINALS LOCATED IN SAID OPENINGS AND SECURED TO SAID BODY,EACH OF SAID TERMINALS INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED APART YIELDABLECONTACT LEGS EXTENDING IN THE PLANE OF THE TERMINAL FOR ACCOMMODATING APRONG OF AN ELECTRICAL DEVICE, A STOP EXTENDING IN THE PLANE OF THETERMINAL TO COACT WITH SAID STOP MEANS, AND A RESILIENT FINGER ADJACENTTO AND SPACED LATERALLY OF SAID CONTACT LEGS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OFTHE PLANE OF THE TERMINAL LOCATED IN SAID OFFSET PORTION FOR COACTINGWITH SAID ABUTMENT, THE TERMINALS EACH INCLUDING A LEG EXTENDINGDOWNWARDLY FROM SAID CONTACT LEGS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO ANOTHERELECTRICAL DEVICE, SAID TERMINALS BEING ADAPTED TO BE SNAPPED INTO SAIDSLOTS BY MOVING THE TERMINALS DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID SLOTS.